The Ultimate Rock Album is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a collection of classic rock, with almost all 15 tracks dating from the '70s (the handful that aren't from the '70s date from the early and mid-'80s). The gimmick is that each song has "rock" or some permutation of that word in its title. So you get
Led Zep's "Rock & Roll,"
Bad Company's "Rock & Roll Fantasy,"
Sammy Hagar's "There's Only One Way to Rock" (which really is the theme song for this collection),
Mellencamp's "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,"
Springsteen's "I'm a Rocker,"
Bryan Adams' "Kids Wanna Rock," and
the Who's "Long Live Rock," among many others. In other words, it's like listening to classic rock radio -- in fact, there's probably been an hour of radio with this exact track listing -- and if you like that, this isn't a bad disc. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide